Understanding Heel and Toe Klankers...

As the size of the clubhead has increased over the last two decades so has the role that gear effect plays on off-center strikes. As the volume of the head increases so does the importance of a quality strike. I think the following video will go a long way towards explaining how this works and what it can mean for your game...

Now keep in mind that gear effect can be a help or a hindrance - it can cause your ball to curve to the target or away from it. Here's an example of how an understanding of the importance of strike point, particularly with the driver, can help any golfer avoid trying to fix something that isn't broken.

A Neutral Swing with a Heel Strike

The Same Neutral Swing with a Toe Strike

Notice how the delivery numbers (attack angle & clubpath) from the above two shots are eerily similar, yet the resultant ball flight could not be more different. The difference in the outcome of the examples above is purely due to the location of the strike for each shot. While the two shots are very different I see no need for this player to address their swing. They simply need to develop their skill at striking the ball in a consistent location on the face.

• Toe sided strikes will lead to more draw or less fade.
• Heel sided strikes will lead to more fade or less draw.
• High strikes on the face elevate launch and decrease spin.
• Low strikes on the face lower launch and increase spin.
• Gear effect works in 3D - the head will twist away from the strike location.
• If the CoG is closer to the strike point, then there will be less curvature from gear effect on off-center hits. 
• If the CoG is further from the strike point, then there will be more curvature from gear effect on off-center hits. 
• Controlling the strike location is a skill - practice accordingly.

If you're looking to gain a better understanding of how you're striking the ball with your  "headcover" clubs, buy yourself a few cans of Dr. Scholl's Odor X. Spray the face of your driver the next time you're warming up or practicing to get some all important feedback.

Your next question might be - "How do I upgrade where I'm striking the ball?" Valid. I am of the opinion that controlling the strike point is a skill. A fun drill is to practicing striking the ball in a variety of unusual, yet intentional, locations on the clubface. Here are additional resources to help you understand and manage the strike point:

Collision! — Andrew Rice Golf

Strike Point Drill — Andrew Rice Golf

Optimal Strike Point for Longer Drives — Andrew Rice Golf

Spin Rate and the Driver — Andrew Rice Golf

Swing Pattern vs Strike Point — Andrew Rice Golf

Spin Rate and the Driver

View fullsize

I was recently teaching an accomplished senior golf professional and he happened to hit three very interesting consecutive shots. They are illustrated in the image above starting from the orange circle and working up to the blue circle.

I thought there was some valuable information to learn from each of these three shots. Here is some TrackMan data to ponder:

Orange Strike

Spin Rate - 3252 Launch Angle - 7.5 Total Distance - 256.5 Club Speed - 103.6

Green Strike

Spin Rate - 2623 Launch Angle - 9.6 Total Distance - 269.5 Club Speed - 102.9

Blue Strike

Spin Rate - 1928 Launch Angle - 10.9 Total Distance - 274.6 Club Speed - 103.1

My experience has shown that golfers tend to be fairly consistent when it comes to club speed and this illustration shows us just that - there was a change of less than 1 mph between the golfers slowest and fastest swings. Nothing new there...

What is interesting is that where the ball was struck on the face, influenced the spin, launch and ultimately the distance that the shot traveled. You may have heard that with a driver you want to launch the ball high and spin it low. The purpose of this article is to get you to start believing it! 

Stay tuned as this is the stuff that can make a tangible difference in your game...

Launch Angle

The clubface is curved from top to bottom and this is called roll. If you have a 9.5 degree driver that means (assuming the manufacturer is correct) that your club has 9.5 degrees of loft in the center (picture the "equator") of the clubface. If you strike the ball lower on the face your club effectively has less loft and vice versa for a higher strike point. well hitting the ball higher on the clubface introduces more loft to the ball and it will thus launch higher - bingo! We've got the higher launch taken care of. As you can see the ball launched more than 3 degrees higher by elevating the strike point.

Spin Rate

But what about the spin rate? How do you get that down and what is ideal? I have great news, as this is a two for one deal. When you strike the ball higher on the face the "off-center" hit causes the clubhead to twist slightly during impact and this leads to vertical gear effect and a strike above the equator will have less spin than a strike below it. I prefer to see a spin rate somewhere between 1900 and 2400 rpm's if you're looking to really make the ball go. It's amazing what a strike point that's about 1/2" above the equator will do towards getting you into that optimal spin rate range.

If you're wondering where to strike the ball on the face the above photo is just about perfect - a touch above center for higher launch and less spin and a touch towards the toe for a hint of gear effect draw. Who wouldn't want to hit high launching, low spinning, baby draws that go 20 yards longer with the exact same club speed?

Collision!

Few golfers are aware of what really happens when a clubhead collides with a golf ball at high speed, not to mention how much an off-center collision can effect the flight of the ball. My hope is that this article and the accompanying video footage will give each of you a much better understanding of the importance of solid contact. I would encourage you to watch the following PGATour.com video a few times...

As you can see a strike away from the center of gravity of the clubhead will lead to twisting of the clubhead. While most of the twisting occurs after impact, a portion of it does occur during the impact interval. It is this twisting during impact that leads to gear effect which can greatly alter the flight of a shot.

An off-center collision will twist the clubface in any direction.

A hit high on the face will tilt the face upward and reduce the amount of spin on the ball, while a low strike point will deloft the face and increase spin rate. A strike towards the toe will open the clubface and increase draw or reduce fade and a strike towards the heel will close the face and increase fade or reduce draw. Interestingly, the clubface will tilt vertically (top/bottom) almost as much as it will horizontally (toe/heel).

There are seven shots in the video and if each of them had a neutral club face and club path during impact, the results of each shot due to gear effect would have been as follows:

Shot 1 - A strike above the "equator" of the clubface and slightly towards the toe. Ideal if you would like to hit high launching, low spinning, draws that go a long way.

A High Toe Strike

Shot 2 - A more pronounced high, toe side strike. This strike point is too far from aligning with the center of gravity of the clubhead to be beneficial. This flight due to gear effect would have been fairly high launching, low spinning and would not have faded as much as it might have appeared.

Shot 3 - Another extreme high, toe side strike along with a heavy descending blow - not good. High and right, but a fairly straight flight.

A Low Heel Side Strike

Shot 4 - A severely off-center hit where the collision is with a very low portion of the face and in the heel. Believe it or not this ball gets airborne and will almost always be an unimpressive high spinning,  low fade with very little distance.

Shot 5 - Charley Hoffman: I have seen numerous clips of high speed driver footage like this and I don't think I have ever seen one where I cannot detect any twisting at all. A slight downward attack angle. Appears to be very close to a perfect center of gravity strike - a truly rare event! Very straight.

Shot 6 - Matt Kuchar: A neutral attack angle along with a high, toe side strike. High launch, lower spin and a slight draw - boom!

Shot 7 - Luke Donald: About as solid as Charley Hoffman's shot, but the interesting thing about this clip is the attack angle - quite severely down. Solid and straight, but not optimal for maximum distance.

It is interesting to note that today's larger clubheads will resist twisting due to having a higher moment of inertia. MOI is a measure of a body’s resistance to angular acceleration or twisting. MOI really comes into play when the ball and the clubface meet someplace other than the sweet spot. The MOI of a club is higher for heel/toe mishits than it is for high/low mishits and therefore tends to be more forgiving on heel/toe mishits. However, golfers tend to mishit a shot further towards the heel/toe than they do high/low so the clubheads' resistance to twisting tends to even out.

Please know that physics is not selective and any golfer, pro or amateur, can hit any shot solidly or severely off-center. Also - no golfer can "stabilize" the clubface during or after impact due to an off-center strike.

This article shows you which part of the clubface is best.

I love this video footage and from here on out it will be required viewing for all my long term and golf school students. Would love to hear your thoughts....

Ball Flight - What You Need to Know

The-Ball-Flight-Laws

There is so much complex information out there regarding the Ball Flight Laws - a ten second Google search yields enough confusion to get my head spinning for a month.  The "old" or "new" ball flight laws, Dr. Wiren, TrackMan.....who or what should you believe?

albert einstein

In light of Dr. Einstein's insightful quote I am going to give this touchy topic my best shot and try to keep it as simple as possible.  Please don't check out!  This is important information for any golfer to comprehend, so bear with me and you'll gain a far better understanding of why your golf ball reacts the way it does.

There are only four factors that influence ball flight when clean (not necessarily solid) contact is made between a golfball and a clubface.

They are:

Club Speed

The faster the clubhead travels the further and higher the ball will travel - generally with more spin. Compare a chip (slow speed) with a pitching wedge vs. a full swing (faster speed) with a pitching wedge...simple enough.

Clubface Orientation

Orientation is a fancy term that refers to where the clubface is angled.  Keep in mind that the face angles both left or right or up or down - left or right being an open or closed face and the up/down variable (although hopefully never down) referring to the loft imparted at impact (dynamic loft).  The face angle largely determines where the ball launches - left or right of the target and at what angle relative to the ground.  A good general point to remember is clubface (for the most part) = launch.

Clubhead Direction

Once again the direction the clubhead travels relative to the target line at impact - left or right (clubpath) and up or down (attack angle) - plays a role in determining ball flight.  A lesser role than the clubface, but a role nonetheless.  A good general point to remember is clubpath (for the most part) = curve.

Centerdness of Contact

This is a big one and something the vast majority of teachers and golfers tend to underestimate.  Most golfers strike the ball on the sweet spot far less frequently than they think .  I often see golfers that swing for a draw, yet strike for a fade - in other words they have a clubpath that is in to out, yet hit the ball slightly out the heel which leads to a fade.  An off center point of contact on the face leads to gear effect, which overrides or reduces the effect the face orientation and clubhead direction have on ball flight.  This factor plays a bigger role than most realize - watch out for it.  And the best way to do that - a  spray of Dr. Scholl's foot powder.

impact point

Read an earlier article on centerdness of contact and a great article on the TrackMan blog illustrating the importance of center contact.

Here are a few simple factors to understand and remember:

• The ball launches primarily in the direction of the face - varying degrees of up and either left or right.
• Given a centered hit, clubpath leads to curve.  With the curve being away from the clubpath.
• Hitting down does not increase spin, and conversely, hitting up does not necessarily reduce spin.
• Heel hits encourage fades or reduce hooks and toe hits encourage draws or reduce slices.
• The more you hit down on the ball, the more you will swing in to out and the more you hit up on the ball the more you will swing out to in.

Now that you're finished reading shoot back up to the top and read again.  This is vital information to assist with your understanding of of how your golf club "communicates" to your golf ball.

If you'd like to try out your new understanding of the Ball Flight Laws in southwest Florida check out this Fort Myers Golf Guide for a great course to play.

Thanks for reading and feel free to fire away with any questions you may have.....

TrackMan vs Flightscope

My good friends Tim and Simon Cooke from GolfPrep on Hilton Head Island recently brought their new Flightscope X2 out to Berkeley Hall. Our objective was to learn more about the numbers that TrackMan and Flightscope are putting out and we wanted to get a sense of how well one machine performed relative to the other.

I have pondered the best way in which to convey my findings and have finally committed to just simply jotting down my thoughts. My intent is certainly not to create controversy or confrontation - these are simply my own honest impressions from the day. Please also keep in mind that I am a TrackMan owner and supporter and no matter how I attempt to remove my bias I doubt whether I am able to remove all of it...

• Prior to the test I had been having trouble with my TM unit giving unusual spin numbers every 30-40 shots, something it had never done before. As a result I had contacted TM support and was informed that I more than likely had a bad USB cable. I was also informed that the classic indicator of a bad cable would be a "double" or "half" spin. Sure enough during the test TM gave out three spin numbers from the 60 shots we hit that were right around double what the FS reported. I have since replaced the cable and have yet to see a spin rate that seems odd.
• As you peruse the following thoughts keep in mind that good players , which all three of the test subjects were,  are very good at controlling the direction the clubhead travels (angle of attack and club path) from shot to shot. The direction may not be ideal, but better players are consistent with clubhead direction. That means that dramatic changes in either of those categories, along with sizable changes from shot to shot in club speed, were going to draw my attention and raise a red flag.
• Since running the tests I have spoken to many "in the biz" people about radar interference. It was mentioned that the machines, when set up side by side as we had them, will occasionally give corrupted data due to the influence of the outside radar. I have not run enough tests to ascertain if this is or is not the case, but during the testing the FS seemed to give a few numbers that were incorrect and this could be due to the TM being directly alongside the unit. The TM did not do anything different to what it normally does as it seemed to be unaffected by the additional radar.
• If a shot off turf has a decent size divot TM will only provide ball data and no club data, whereas FS reported both ball and club data for just about every shot hit off the ground. On the occasions that FS reported club data and TM did not the numbers did not look correct - meaning the attack angle and/or club path seemed to be too far from what the subject would normally generate. We hit numerous 50 yard pitch shots and TM did not offer any club data while FS reported for most of these shots. The problem was that the club path was said to be almost 15 degrees from in to out along with a spin rate of 14,000 rpm - just not happening! I actually preferred that TM did not provide club data as I would rather have no information than have to explain away improper information. That being said I would love a radar that provided correct club data on all shots.
• With both units unplugged and PC's powered down the TM (2:05) was aligned and ready to roll in about half the time of the FS (4:16). I was told that with an iPad the FS can be aligned and operational in far less time.
• We noticed that both machines reported different Swing Plane numbers when they were moved (flipped positions) relative to the same golfer. I have tested this before and the changes in data are due to the hardware in the TM II. Each machine appeared to provide better data when the golfer is hitting shots aligned with the center of the unit - something that was not possible when running two machines.
• We tested the ability of each unit to report gear effect, by logging the point of contact on certain drives and then comparing each units Face to Path and Spin Axis numbers. The TM reported gear effect as I would have anticipated and most of the time FS reported along similar lines. However the first shot we examined, a big heel hit, was actually reported by FS as being a slight toe side hit. TM reported a Face to Path of -9.3 and a Spin Axis of -5.4 while FS reported a Face to Path of -2.2 and a Spin Axis of -11.0
• I was amazed at how closely aligned the Spin Rate numbers were for each machine. Unless there were dramatic differences the spin rates were almost always within 100 rpm's.
• There seemed to be quite a few instances during the testing where the attack angles were not even in the same ball park. I had nothing to help me determine which machine was correct, other than the aforementioned fact that better players tend to be very consistent, and all too often it was FS reporting wide ranges of variation from the player.

Keep in mind that my intent is merely to report what I observed and not to offend anybody or any entity.  I could tell that Tim and Simon were a little concerned with the results and they went home and performed additional tests. I am happy to report that the FS performed much better without the influence of additional radar and when shots are hit from the center of the unit. Tim's follow up comment to me was:

I believe that side by side testing, although seeming to be a good idea, does not work.  Clearly there was some radar interference at work as the inconsistent numbers were not reproduced in stand alone tests.  Maybe the only way you can really compare the units is with extreme high speed cameras with the units working independently of one another.

I would have to agree with Tim's sentiments and I have started to make plans to have each unit test the same golfer on the same day, but without the potential interference of outside radar.

You know I'll report back on that one....

Driver Test: Old vs. New

My wife encouraged me to clean out the garage the other day and I happened upon an old driver I used in college. I still remember how cool this driver was - it was the latest and greatest and even had a titanium shaft! When was the last time you saw one of those? Just for kicks I placed it up alongside my current Titleist driver and was shocked at the massive difference between the two - the older club looked smaller than my current three wood! How could I have possibly played well with this mini club? This got me thinking about a TrackMan test.

For the record the smaller club was a TaylorMade Burner Plus 9.5 degree with a titanium X flex shaft and my current club is a Titleist D3 8.5 with a Motore F3 70 gram graphite S flex shaft. There is a fairly substantial 1.5 inch difference even though both clubs were standard length in their day. I am not sure about the weight or the true frequency/flex of each club as I did not have the appropriate equipment to check those measurements.

For the TrackMan test I hit 12 shots with each club and deleted the data for the two worst shots. I noted that the attack angle, club path, swing direction and plane were very similar from club to club.

The primary differences seemed to be:

• Club speed 99.7mph vs 101.8mph - I believed that this difference would be greater due to the large difference in length of shafts.
• Ball Speed 145.7mph vs 152.4mph - I put this down to the fact that the smaller head led to more off-center hits and thus a decreased average ball speed and smash factor.
• Point of contact - there was a noticeable tendency for me to strike the bigger club in the heel. This led to more shots missed to the right due to gear effect and an increase in the spin rate 2455rpm vs 2895rpm.
• Height - even though the smaller club launched the ball slightly higher the apex height was lower due to less spin and ball speed.
• Carry and total distance - the smaller club carried the ball almost 17yards shorter, but with less spin and a flatter land angle rolled further to only finish just over 10 yards short of the bigger club.
• Dispersion - the smaller club had more shots finish further from the center line due to a much smaller clubface and substantially lower MOI.

Here are the TrackMan generated dispersion charts (yellow is the smaller club) and averages:

(click to enlarge)

I was amazed at how small the difference between the two drivers, total distance wise, there was. Going in to the test I would have thought that there would be a 15 yard difference at least. I expected the smaller club to spin the ball less and lower the apex which it did, but I was truly amazed at how little distance I lost with it. I did notice a much greater tendency to hit the ball outside the sweet spot with the smaller club and that led to some fairly aggressive gear effect draws and fades.

Driving is not my strong suit and I am always looking to keep the ball in play off the tee. Armed with this new knowledge I am going to try a shorter shaft in my current driver head and see what that does for my fairways hit statistic. I also plan on practicing with the older club - I think it is vital in improving ball striking to practice with smaller headed clubs.

I also think this test might also illustrate that the majority of the distance gains we see on the PGATour today are not equipment based, but primarily due to the ball.....your thoughts?

Centeredness of Contact

As you may have heard, it's all about impact! And it really is. The most important part of the golf swing is the point at which the golf club communicates to the golf ball - impact. The ball spends 1/2000 of a second on the face and it's during this sliver of time that the outcome of every shot is determined.

I often share with golfers how the laws of physics cause the ball to respond to the club, and while this information is helpful it refers primarily to centered hits. It is too seldom that I discuss off-center hits and how the ball responds to this frequent occurrence. Today's the day!

When the ball is struck anywhere other than the center of the face a phenomenon called gear effect occurs. Ever heard of it? It causes the ball to draw (or fade less) on toe oriented hits and fade (or draw less) on heel oriented hits. I often see a golfer struggling to stop the ball from fading, yet every shot is struck off the heel or inside of the face. Gear effect is elevated when you use clubs with larger heads such as a driver and it's actually the reason why the face of a driver is curved from toe to heel and from top to bottom. The curve on the face of a driver actually gets the ball, when struck off the toe for example, to launch to the right (for right-handers) and then gear effect causes the shot to curve back to the target. Gear effect plays a role in all shots where the ball is not struck in the center of the face and let's be honest - and that is most shots.

The research I have conducted using TrackMan has shown that better golfers (single figure handicaps or better) hit the sweet spot or center of gravity less than 20% of the time! Think about that for a second...

The best method to ascertain where you are striking the ball on the clubface is to use a dry erase marker to cover a portion of the face. Hit a shot or two, take note of where the strike occurs and then re-apply. After a handful of shots you'll start to get a good idea as to what your tendencies might be because, while you may not hit the sweet spot often enough, most golfers are fairly consistent with where they miss.

Keep in mind that it is very difficult to influence where the ball is being struck on the face by altering your distance from the ball. For example, heel hits do not mean that you should move away from the ball as this will more than likely cause you to reach out for the ball even more and exacerbate the problem.

Once you start to learn what your tendencies are an excellent drill is to position a row of tees just outside the toe if you hit shots predominantly off the heel and vice versa for toe hits.

After a few shot you will start to sense what the body and arms need to do in order to make a quality strike in the center of the clubface. Give it a try!

Another important note: andrewricegolf.com is pleased to announce that Derek Lemire,

Fitness Trainer at Berkeley Hall and trainer to recent PGA Tour Champion Kyle Stanley, will be making regular contributions to this site. Derek will be offering important advice to all golfers concerning exercise programs, stretching and even nutrition. I have worked with Derek at Berkeley Hall for a long time and I am excited to share his passion and knowledge with all of you.

Thanks for reading and good striking!

The Driver and Distance (Part 1)

We all want to hit the ball straight and far of the tee don't we?  In more technical terms our goals with the driver are to achieve the highest ball speed possible (distance), along with the desired flight pattern (accuracy).  We want cake and we want to eat it too!  There are numerous elements built into most drivers that often assist us in achieving these goals, yet so many of these small factors almost go unnoticed.  Almost...

Factors in driver technology that influence distance are: length of club; shaft weight; head weight; loft; face material and thickness (CoR) and roll (vertical gear effect).  Distance comes from our ability to convert clubhead speed into ball speed - often referred to as smash factor.  Smash factor is an indicator of our efficiency at impact - are we getting out what we (our driver included!) are putting in?

• It seems to be fashionable these days for club companies to stretch the length of their drivers to 46 inches and claim that they are "superfast".  The laws of physics indicate they are faster, but in my hands any speed gains are sacrificed with a loss of control.  Ben Hogan used a driver that was 42.5 inches long and nowhere have I ever read that he was a short hitter.  Personally I am not a fan of anything over 45 inches as this seems to be my threshold where distance decreases and control and centerdness of hit diminishes. I believe beginning golfers could use a 43 inch driver with far better results.
• Over the last decade shaft technology has come a long way and the most notable upgrade has been shaft weight.  Miyazaki makes an incredible 39 Series driver shaft that can be as light as 44 grams - if you you cannot swing that faster then we have a problem.  Barring feel and control issues I am a big fan of lightweight shaft technology and know it is something we should all take advantage of - even Keegan Bradley did.
• In pursuit of the "lighter is faster" formula a few companies have sought to reduce the weight of the clubhead.  Cleveland Golf has their Ultralight line of drivers that are the lightest on the market today.  A little known fact is that we could actually hit the ball further with a heavier clubhead (with speed being equal).  By increasing the mass ratio of clubhead to ball you can increase ball speed, however the problem here is that as you increase weight you decrease speed, so once again there is a threshold to consider.  The good news is the club companies have done all the research for us and most driver heads fall somewhere between 197 and 212 grams - something we can all manage.
• The loft of your driver is something that should be determined by an expert (someone who does this for a living!) fitter.  A nice option with the new adjustable heads is that you can now alter the loft of your club without buying a whole new club. The more loft you introduce to the ball at impact the more spin and less ball speed you will create.  The lower the loft, the more ball speed. One problem however - we would like to get the ball in the air and so, once again, there is a trade off.  When it comes to loft, where possible, I encourage a golfer to go with less loft and show them how to overcome the reduction in launch angle by learning how to hit up on the ball.  The golfer does most of the work here, but a reduction in loft can help with distance.
• The coefficient of restitution (CoR) is the spring like effect the face has when it collides with the golf ball.  As you  might expect the highest CoR on the face is in the center with lower numbers working out from the there.  Golf's governing bodies have made it a rule that this spring like effect cannot be higher than 0.83 and as a result all club companies have made sure that their equipment is right up against the limit.
• The final, and perhaps most interesting, factor that increases the distance your driver makes the ball go is due to roll - no not roll on the ground, but roll on the face.  Roll is the curvature of the face from top to bottom or crown to sole. Manufacturers include roll into the face design in order to create vertical gear effect on hits that are below or above center.  A ball that is struck above center will actually spin less due to gear effect and as a result launch high with low spin - a winning formula for the long ball.  Of course balls hit low on the face will spin more, but they more than likely need a little more air time. Please see Part 2 of this article for a full explanation of gear effect.
• I know of no face design or treatment that increases distance - unless you're working the Chapstick for more than just your lips!

The most efficient a golfer could be with the big stick would be to have a clubhead and shaft that fits them in every way, hit the ball from the inside with an ascending blow and strike the ball slightly above the center of the face and a touch towards the toe.  The reason to favor the toe -  the toe of a driver travels about 14% faster than the heel of the club!

I love this PGATour stat that measures how efficient each player on tour is with the driver.  It quantifies  a player's average distance divided by their average swing speed. It also shows each players average swing speed - an interesting read.

Check back soon to learn about what the driver can do for your accuracy....